U.S. patent application number 16/293179 was filed with the patent office on 2019-09-19 for systems and methods for irrigating according to a modified or reset crop growth model.
This patent application is currently assigned to LINDSAY CORPORATION. The applicant listed for this patent is LINDSAY CORPORATION. Invention is credited to Kurtis Arlan Charling, Brian James Magnusson.
Application Number | 20190281776 16/293179 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 67903555 |
Filed Date | 2019-09-19 |
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United States Patent
Application |
20190281776 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Magnusson; Brian James ; et
al. |
September 19, 2019 |
SYSTEMS AND METHODS FOR IRRIGATING ACCORDING TO A MODIFIED OR RESET
CROP GROWTH MODEL
Abstract
An irrigation system includes a plurality of mobile support
towers driven my motors; a fluid-carrying conduit supported by the
mobile towers; a number of water-emitters connected to the conduit;
one or more valves which can be opened or closed to control fluid
flow through the water emitters; and a control system. The control
system controls the speed of the mobile towers and the flow of
water through the water emitters in accordance with one or more
irrigation scheduling plans. The control system also receives crop
growth data from one or more sensors and aerial image data from one
or more remote imaging systems and detects significant crop events
from the data and improves irrigation scheduling in response to
such detections.
Inventors: |
Magnusson; Brian James;
(Clarendon Hills, IL) ; Charling; Kurtis Arlan;
(Elkhorn, NE) |
|
Applicant: |
Name |
City |
State |
Country |
Type |
LINDSAY CORPORATION |
Omaha |
NE |
US |
|
|
Assignee: |
LINDSAY CORPORATION
Omaha
NE
|
Family ID: |
67903555 |
Appl. No.: |
16/293179 |
Filed: |
March 5, 2019 |
Related U.S. Patent Documents
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Application
Number |
Filing Date |
Patent Number |
|
|
62642713 |
Mar 14, 2018 |
|
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|
Current U.S.
Class: |
1/1 |
Current CPC
Class: |
G06K 9/00657 20130101;
A01G 25/092 20130101; A01G 25/16 20130101 |
International
Class: |
A01G 25/16 20060101
A01G025/16; G06K 9/00 20060101 G06K009/00; A01G 25/09 20060101
A01G025/09 |
Claims
1. An irrigation system for irrigating a crop, the irrigation
system comprising: a plurality of mobile support towers configured
to move across a field, each mobile support tower having a motor; a
fluid-carrying conduit supported above the field by the mobile
towers; water emitters coupled with the fluid-carrying conduit; at
least one valve for controlling flow of fluids through the water
emitters; and a control system programmed to-- control operation of
the motors and/or the valve in accordance with an irrigation
schedule to deliver a prescribed amount of water to the crop,
receive crop growth data representative of growth and/or health
characteristics of the crop, receive aerial image data of the crop,
determine whether a significant crop event has occurred based on
the crop growth data and the aerial image data, and adjust the
irrigation schedule if a significant crop event has occurred.
2. The irrigation system as set forth in claim 1, the control
system further programmed to create augmented crop growth data by
adjusting the crop growth data in accordance with the aerial image
data.
3. The irrigation system as set forth in claim 2, the control
system further programmed to adjust a crop growth model according
to the augmented crop growth data if no significant crop event has
occurred.
4. The irrigation system as set forth in claim 3, the control
system further programmed to reset the crop growth model according
to the augmented crop growth data if a significant crop event has
occurred.
5. The irrigation system as set forth in claim 4, the control
system further programmed to adjust the irrigation schedule to
irrigate the crop according to the adjusted or reset crop growth
model.
6. The irrigation system as set forth in claim 1, wherein the
control system is positioned locally near one of the mobile
towers.
7. The irrigation system as set forth in claim 1, wherein the
control system is positioned remotely from the mobile towers.
8. The irrigation system as set forth in claim 1, wherein the crop
growth data is received from sensors and corresponds to an amount
of water delivered to the crop; an amount of water in ground in
which the crop is planted; air temperature near the crop; humidity
near the crop; and/or soil content of the ground.
9. The irrigation system as set forth in claim 1, wherein the
aerial image data is received from a satellite or an unmanned
aerial vehicle.
10. A method of controlling an irrigation system, the method
comprising: irrigating a crop with the irrigation system according
to an irrigation schedule; receiving crop growth data
representative of growth and/or health characteristics of the crop;
receiving aerial image data; determining whether a significant crop
event has occurred based on the crop growth data and the aerial
image data; and adjusting the irrigation schedule if a significant
crop event has occurred.
11. The method as set forth in claim 10, wherein the crop growth
data is received from sensors and corresponds to an amount of water
delivered to the crop, an amount of water in ground in which the
crop is planted, air temperature near the crop, humidity near the
crop, and/or soil content of the ground.
12. The method as set forth in claim 10, wherein the aerial image
data is received from a satellite or an unmanned aerial
vehicle.
13. A control system for an irrigation system having motors and one
or more valves, the control system programmed and configured to:
control operation of the motors and/or the valve in accordance with
an irrigation schedule to deliver a prescribed amount of water to a
crop; receive crop growth data representative of growth and/or
health characteristics of the crop; receive aerial image data;
determine whether a significant crop event has occurred based on
the crop growth data and the aerial image data; and adjust the
irrigation schedule if a significant crop event has occurred.
14. The control system as set forth in claim 13, further programmed
to create augmented crop growth data by adjusting the crop growth
data in accordance with the aerial image data.
15. The control system as set forth in claim 14, further programmed
to adjust a crop growth model according to the augmented crop
growth data if no significant crop event has occurred.
16. The control system as set forth in claim 15, further programmed
to reset the crop growth model according to the augmented crop
growth data if a significant crop event has occurred.
17. The control system as set forth in claim 16, further programmed
to adjust the irrigation schedule to irrigate the crop according to
the adjusted or reset crop growth model.
18. The control system as set forth in claim 13, wherein the
control system is positioned locally near the irrigation
system.
19. The control system as set forth in claim 13, wherein the
control system is positioned remotely from the irrigation
system.
20. The control system as set forth in claim 13, wherein the crop
growth data is received from sensors and corresponds to an amount
of water delivered to the crop; an amount of water in ground in
which the crop is planted; air temperature near the crop; humidity
near the crop; and/or soil content of the ground.
Description
RELATED APPLICATION
[0001] The present application is a non-provisional patent
application and claims priority benefit, with regard to all common
subject matter, of earlier-filed U.S. provisional patent
application titled "SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR IRRIGATING ACCORDING TO A
MODIFIED OR RESET CROP GROWTH MODEL", Ser. No. 62/642,713, filed on
Mar. 14, 2018, incorporated by reference in its entirety into the
present application.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
[0002] The present invention relates to agricultural irrigation
systems. More particularly, the invention relates to systems and
methods for irrigating according to a modified or reset crop growth
model.
2. Background
[0003] Agricultural irrigation systems such as center pivot and
lateral move irrigation systems are commonly used to irrigate
crops. It is desirable to monitor and control the amount of water
delivered by an irrigation system to prevent over or under-watering
and to conserve water. Thus, modern irrigation systems typically
include control systems that receive and implement irrigation
schedules to control the speed of their drive motors and/or the
opening and closing of their water valves to deliver prescribed
amounts of water to crops.
[0004] Crop growth and development plays a critical role in proper
irrigation scheduling. That is, irrigation should be a function of
the maturity and health of a crop. For example, mature crops
generally require more water than seedlings, and mature crops that
will soon be harvested are typically not irrigated for a period of
time before the harvest. To that end, crop modeling is often used
to determine observed and forecasted crop growth to assess crop
water usage, predict potential crop yield loss due to water stress,
and determine critical soil water depletion levels. Such crop
modeling is then often used to develop and/or modify irrigation
schedules. However, factors that cannot be determined with
conventional crop growth modeling, such as pest infestation,
disease, hail damage, and abnormal temperatures, can also affect
crop growth and development and thus irrigation requirements. As a
result, it is often difficult to accurately predict and determine
crop growth and irrigation needs when such significant crop events
occur.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0005] Embodiments of the current invention solve the
above-mentioned problems and other related problems by providing
systems and methods for detecting significant crop events and
improving irrigation scheduling in response to such detections.
[0006] An irrigation system which may implement principles of the
present invention comprises a plurality of mobile support towers
driven my motors; a fluid-carrying conduit supported by the mobile
towers; a number of sprinklers or other water-emitters connected to
the conduit; one or more valves which can be opened or closed to
control fluid flow through the water emitters; and a control
system.
[0007] The control system controls operational aspects of the
irrigation system such as the speed of the mobile towers and the
flow of water through the water emitters in accordance with one or
more irrigation scheduling plans and may be located on or near one
of the mobile towers, on or near a center pivot, or remotely from
the mobile towers and center pivot. In accordance with important
aspects of the invention, the control system also receives crop
growth data from one or more sensors and aerial image data from one
or more remote imaging systems for detecting significant crop
events and improving irrigation scheduling in response to such
detections.
[0008] The sensors may be positioned on the mobile support towers
or in the field and may be any devices configured to sense or
otherwise measure factors related to the maturity and/or health of
irrigated crops. For example, the sensors may measure the amount of
water delivered to the crops, the amount of water in the ground,
air temperatures near the crops, humidity near the crops, soil
content of the ground in which the crops are planted, and/or other
information. The sensors then generate corresponding crop growth
data and transmit the data, directly or indirectly, to the control
system. The remote imaging systems may be any devices capable of
gathering images of crops such as satellites, unmanned aerial
vehicles (UAVs), or cameras mounted on poles or other structures.
The remote imaging systems generate aerial image data and transmit
the data, directly or indirectly, to the control system.
[0009] The control system analyzes the crop growth data from the
sensors and the aerial image data from the remote imaging systems
and identifies significant crop events based on the data. In one
embodiment, the crop data received from the sensors may be
augmented according to the aerial image data. The control system
then modifies or resets a crop growth model depending on whether a
significant crop event has been identified and the nature and/or
severity of the identified significant crop event. The control
system may also adjust an irrigation scheduling plan so as to
irrigate the crops according to the modified or reset crop growth
model.
[0010] This summary is provided to introduce a selection of
concepts in a simplified form that are further described below in
the detailed description. This summary is not intended to identify
key features or essential features of the claimed subject matter,
nor is it intended to be used to limit the scope of the claimed
subject matter. Other aspects and advantages of the current
invention will be apparent from the following detailed description
of the embodiments and the accompanying drawing figures.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING FIGURES
[0011] Embodiments of the current invention are described in detail
below with reference to the attached drawing figures, wherein:
[0012] FIG. 1 is a perspective view of an exemplary irrigation
system with which principles of the present invention may be
implemented.
[0013] FIG. 2 is a block diagram depicting selected components of a
control system of the irrigation system of FIG. 1.
[0014] FIG. 3 is a block diagram depicting selected components of
computing and communication equipment which may implement aspects
of the present invention.
[0015] FIG. 4 is a graph of K.sub.c versus fCover for a corn
crop;
[0016] FIG. 5 is a graph of K.sub.c versus fCover for a soybean
crop;
[0017] FIG. 6 is a data table for crop values for a selected date
with no adjustments;
[0018] FIG. 7 is a graph of crop values for a selected period of
time with no adjustments;
[0019] FIG. 8 is a data table for crop values for a selected date
based on an adjusted crop growth and irrigation schedule model;
[0020] FIG. 9 is a graph of crop values for a selected period of
time based on adjustments to a crop growth and irrigation schedule
model;
[0021] FIG. 10 is a data table for crop values for a selected date
with no adjustments;
[0022] FIG. 11 is a graph of crop values for a selected period of
time with no adjustments;
[0023] FIG. 12 is a data table for crop values for a selected date
based on a reset crop growth and irrigation schedule model;
[0024] FIG. 13 is a graph of crop values for a selected period of
time based on a reset crop growth and irrigation schedule model;
and
[0025] FIG. 14 is a flow diagram depicting exemplary steps of a
method of the present invention.
[0026] The drawing figures do not limit the invention to the
specific embodiments disclosed and described herein. The drawings
are not necessarily to scale, emphasis instead being placed upon
clearly illustrating the principles of the invention.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE EMBODIMENTS
[0027] The present invention may be implemented with an irrigation
system having a control system. The control system controls
operational aspects of the irrigation system such as its speed
and/or its water application rate in accordance with one or more
irrigation schedules. In accordance with important aspects of the
invention, the control system also receives crop growth data from
one or more sensors and aerial image data from one or more remote
imaging systems for detecting significant crop events and improving
irrigation scheduling in response to such detections.
[0028] Turning now to the drawing figures, and initially FIG. 1, an
exemplary irrigation system 10 which may implement aspects of the
present invention is shown. The illustrated irrigation system 10 is
a center pivot irrigation system, but it may also be a linear move
or lateral type irrigation system or any other type of automated
irrigation system. The illustrated irrigation system 10 broadly
comprises a fixed center pivot 12 and a main section 14 pivotally
connected to the center pivot.
[0029] The fixed center pivot 12 may be a tower or any other
support structure about which the main section 14 pivots. The
center pivot has access to a well, water tank, or other source of
water and may also be coupled with a tank or other source of
agricultural products to inject fertilizers, pesticides and/or
other chemicals into the water for application during
irrigation.
[0030] The main section 14 pivots or rotates about the center pivot
12 and includes a number of mobile support towers 16A-D, the
outermost 16D of which is referred to herein as an end tower. The
mobile towers are connected to the fixed center pivot 12 and to one
another by truss sections 18A-D or other supports to form a number
of interconnected spans. The illustrated irrigation system 10 has
four mobile support towers, and thus four spans, however, it may
comprise any number of towers and spans without departing from the
scope of the invention
[0031] The mobile towers have wheels 20A-D driven by drive motors
22A-D. Each motor 22A-D turns at least one of the wheels 20A-D
through a drive shaft or directly to move its mobile tower and thus
the main section 14 in a circle or semi-circle about the center
pivot 12. The motors 22A-D may include integral or external relays
so they may be turned on, off, and reversed by the control system
30 described below. The motors may also have several speeds or be
equipped with variable speed drives.
[0032] Although not required, some or all of the towers 16A-D may
be equipped with steerable wheels pivoted about upright axes by
suitable steering motors so that the towers can follow a
predetermined track. As is also well known, the drive motors for
the towers are controlled by a suitable safety system such that
they may be slowed or completely shut down in the event of the
detection of an adverse circumstance.
[0033] The mobile towers 16A-D and the truss sections 18A-D carry
or otherwise support inter-connected conduit sections 24A-D or
other fluid distribution mechanisms that are connected to a source
of fluids from the center pivot. A plurality of sprinkler heads,
spray guns, drop nozzles, or other water emitters 26A-P are spaced
along the conduit sections 24A-D to apply water and/or other fluids
to land underneath the irrigation system.
[0034] One or more valves 28 may be disposed between the conduit
sections 24A-D and the water emitters 26A-P and/or between the
conduit sections and the fixed center pivot to control the flow of
water through the water emitters. In some embodiments, the
irrigation system includes several valves, and each valve controls
the flow of water through a single water emitter such that each
water emitter can be individually opened, closed, pulsed, etc. to
emit any amount of water. In other embodiments, the irrigation
system 10 includes several valves that each control the flow of
water through a group of water emitters such that the group of
water emitters is controlled to emit a specific amount of water.
For example, each span of the irrigation system may include four
water emitters, and one valve may control the water flow through
all four water emitters such that all of the water emitters on a
span operate in unison. The valves may be magnetic latching
solenoid valves that are normally biased to an off/closed state
such that the valves only switch to an on/open state when powered,
but they may be any type of valve.
[0035] The irrigation system 10 may also include a flow meter that
measures water flow rates through the system. Outputs from the flow
meter may be provided to the control system described below. In one
embodiment, a single flow meter measures flow rates through the
entire irrigation system and provides an indication of this
aggregate flow rate to the control system. In other embodiments,
multiple flow meters provide flow-rate measurements through
different portions of the irrigation system, such as through each
span of the irrigation system or even each water emitter.
[0036] Embodiments of the irrigation system 10 may also include a
pressure regulator for regulating the pressure of water through the
irrigation system. Pumps that provide water to the irrigation
system may be configured to provide a minimum water pressure, and
the pressure regulator then reduces the pump water pressure to a
selected maximum pressure level such that the pumps and pressure
regulator together provide a relatively constant water pressure
through the irrigation system.
[0037] The irrigation system 10 may also comprise an extension arm
(also commonly referred to as a "swing arm" or "corner arm")
pivotally connected to the free end of the main section and/or one
or more high pressure sprayers or end guns 32 mounted to the end
tower 16D or to the end of the extension arm. The end guns are
activated at the corners of a field or other designated areas to
increase the amount of land that can be irrigated.
[0038] The irrigation system 10 may also comprise a
location-determining component that detects positions of the
irrigation system and generates corresponding position signals. The
location-determining component may be a global navigation satellite
system (GNSS) receiver such as a GPS receiver, Glonass receiver,
Galileo receiver, or compass system receiver operable to receive
navigational signals from satellites to calculate positions of the
mobile towers as a function of the signals. The GNSS receiver may
include one or more processors, controllers, or other computing
devices and memory for storing information accessed and/or
generated by the processors or other computing devices and may
include or be coupled with a patch antenna, helical antenna, or any
other type of antenna. The location-determining component may
calculate positions of the irrigation system and generate
corresponding position signals to be transmitted a control system
described below or may simply relay satellite signals to the
control system so the control system may calculate the positions of
the irrigation system.
[0039] The location-determining component may also comprise other
type of receiving devices capable of receiving location information
from at least three transmitting locations and performing basic
triangulation calculations to determine the relative position of
the receiving device with respect to the transmitting locations.
For example, cellular towers or any customized transmitting radio
frequency towers can be used instead of satellites. With such a
configuration, any standard geometric triangulation algorithm can
be used to determine the exact location of the receiving unit.
[0040] The location-determining component may also be an angle
encoder for sensing angles between the center pivot 12 and the main
section 14 and/or one or more modified cam switches, proximity
switches, optical encoders, potentiometers, light bar sensors, etc.
at one of the joints of the irrigation system.
[0041] The irrigation system 10 may also include an alignment
system for maintaining alignment of the mobile towers 20A-D. The
alignment system will not be discussed in depth but may be
implemented with hardware, software, firmware, or combinations
thereof. The alignment system may also be integrated with the
control system described below.
[0042] The control system 30 controls operation of the irrigation
system 10 and implements aspects of the present invention. The
control system can be located anywhere, such as in a panel beside
the center pivot 12 as shown in FIG. 1, remotely from the other
components of the irrigation system, or both locally and remotely,
and can be implemented with hardware, software, firmware, or a
combination thereof. One embodiment of the control system 30 may
comprise a processing element, controller, or other computing
device; conventional input devices such as knobs, buttons,
switches, dials, etc.; inputs for receiving programs and data from
external devices; one or more displays; and a communications
element. The communications element may be a cellular or other
radio transceiver for wirelessly receiving and transmitting data
from and to remote devices; a Bluetooth transceiver; a WiFi
transceiver; and/or other components. The control system may be
embodied by a custom application-specific device, a workstation
computer, a desktop computer, a laptop computer, a tablet computer,
a smart phone, a smart watch, or any other device which comprises a
wireless communication element, a memory element and a processing
element.
[0043] As shown in FIG. 3, the control system 30 may communicate
with a data server 34 and personal computing devices 36 or other
remote computing systems via a communication network 38. The
communication network 38 may include the Internet, cellular
communication networks, local area networks, metro area networks,
wide area networks, cloud networks, conventional telephone service
networks, and the like, or combinations thereof. The communication
network 38 may be wired, wireless, or combinations thereof and may
include components such as modems, gateways, switches, routers,
hubs, access points, repeaters, towers, and the like. The control
systems 16 may connect to the communication network 38 either
through wires, such as electrical cables or fiber optic cables, or
wirelessly, such as RF communication using wireless standards such
as cellular 2G, 3G, or 4G, Institute of Electrical and Electronics
Engineers (IEEE) 802.11 standards such as WiFi, IEEE 802.16
standards such as WiMAX, Bluetooth.TM., or combinations
thereof.
[0044] The communication element of the control system may include
signal or data transmitting and receiving circuits, such as
antennas, amplifiers, filters, mixers, oscillators, digital signal
processors (DSPs), and the like. The communication element of the
control system may establish communication wirelessly by utilizing
RF signals and/or data that comply with communication standards
such as cellular 2G, 3G, or 4G, IEEE 802.11 standard such as WiFi,
IEEE 802.16 standard such as WiMAX, Bluetooth.TM., or combinations
thereof. Alternatively, or in addition, the communication element
may establish communication through connectors or couplers that
receive metal conductor wires or cables which are compatible with
networking technologies such as ethernet. In certain embodiments,
the communication element may also couple with optical fiber
cables.
[0045] The control system 30 controls operational aspects of the
irrigation system such as the speed and direction of the mobile
towers, and hence the speed of the irrigation system, via control
signals provided to the relays connected to the motors 22A-D of the
mobile towers 16A-D. Likewise, the control system 30 controls the
water flow through the water emitters 26A-P via control signals
provided to the relays connected to the valves 28. The control
system 30 may also control other operational aspects such as a
fertilizer application rate, a pesticide application rate, end gun
operation, mobile tower direction (forward or reverse), and/or
system start-up and/or shut-down procedures.
[0046] The control system 30 may control some of the
above-described operational aspects of the irrigation system in
accordance with an irrigation plan (also sometimes referred to as a
"sprinkler chart", "irrigation schedule" or "watering plan"). An
irrigation plan specifies how much water to apply to a field, and
sometimes to different portions of a field, based on various
different criteria such as the types of crops to be irrigated; the
soil conditions in various parts of the field; the existence of
slopes, valleys, etc. in the field; the existence of roads,
buildings, ponds, and boundaries that require no irrigations; crop
growth cycles; etc. One or more irrigation plans may be created
then stored in memory associated with the control system and/or may
be transmitted to the control system from the remote server and/or
one of the remote computing devices.
[0047] As shown in FIG. 2, the control system 30 receives data from
one or more sensors 40, 42 and one or more remote imaging systems
44, 46. Data from these sensors and remote imaging systems is
analyzed by the control system and/or other computers in
communication with the control system to detect significant crop
events and improve irrigation scheduling in response to such
detections.
[0048] The sensors 40,42 may be positioned on the mobile support
towers or in the field and may sense or otherwise measure any
factors related to the maturity and/or health of irrigated crops.
For example, the sensors may measure the amount of water delivered
to the crops, the amount of water in the ground, air temperatures
near the crops, humidity near the crops, soil content, and/or other
crop information. The sensors then generate corresponding crop
growth data and communicate it to the control system and/or remote
computing systems via wired or wireless connections.
[0049] The remote imaging systems 44, 46 may be any devices capable
of gathering images of crops such as satellites, unmanned aerial
vehicles (UAVs), or cameras mounted on poles or other structures.
The remote imaging systems 44, 46 the generate associated aerial
image data and transmit the data, directly or indirectly, to the
control system, via wireless connections. These images may be
generated periodically, such as once per day, or nearly
continuously.
[0050] The data server 34 generally stores and processes electronic
data and may include application servers, database servers, file
servers, web servers, or the like, or combinations thereof.
Furthermore, the data server 34 may include a plurality of servers
(perhaps geographically separated), virtual servers, or
combinations thereof. The data server 34 may store and provide to
the control system 30 weather information such as current
conditions, weather forecasts, rainfall measurements, rainfall
forecasts, crop information such as coefficients for specific crops
derived from dynamic crop growth models, as well as other
meteorological and agricultural information. The data server 34 may
be operated by government bodies, commercial enterprises, or the
like, or combinations thereof. In some embodiments, the data server
34 may be integrated with, or housed with, the control system
30.
[0051] The control system 30 and the data server 34 may each
comprise one or more memory elements and one or more processing
elements. Each memory element may include electronic hardware data
storage components such as read-only memory (ROM), programmable
ROM, erasable programmable ROM, random-access memory (RAM) such as
static RAM (SRAM) or dynamic RAM (DRAM), cache memory, hard disks,
floppy disks, optical disks, flash memory, thumb drives, universal
serial bus (USB) drives, or the like, or combinations thereof. In
some embodiments, the memory element may be embedded in, or
packaged in the same package as, the processing element. The memory
element may include, or may constitute, a "computer-readable
medium". The memory element may store the instructions, code, code
segments, software, firmware, programs, applications, apps,
services, daemons, or the like that are executed by the processing
element. The memory element may also store settings, data,
documents, sound files, photographs, movies, images, databases, and
the like.
[0052] Each processing element may include electronic hardware
components such as processors, microprocessors (single-core and
multi-core), microcontrollers, digital signal processors (DSPs),
field-programmable gate arrays (FPGAs), analog and/or digital
application-specific integrated circuits (ASICs), or the like, or
combinations thereof. Each processing element may generally
execute, process, or run instructions, code, code segments,
software, firmware, programs, applications, apps, processes,
services, daemons, or the like. The processing elements may also
include hardware components such as finite-state machines,
sequential and combinational logic, and other electronic circuits
that can perform the functions necessary for the operation of the
current invention. The processing element 36 may be in
communication with the other electronic components through serial
or parallel links that include universal busses, address busses,
data busses, control lines, and the like.
[0053] Through hardware, software, firmware, or various
combinations thereof, the processing elements may be programmed to,
or configured to, perform the tasks and function described in this
application. The processing elements may generate control signals
that include one or more electronic signals and/or digital data
which open and close the valves that control the flow of water
through the conduit. The processing elements may also generate
control signals that include one or more electronic signals and/or
digital data which operate the motors 22, including whether the
motors 22 are on or off, and the speed and direction of travel. The
control signals may be transmitted directly or indirectly either
through wired or wireless communication, such as Bluetooth.TM.,
etc.
[0054] Irrigation of crops, and hence control of the irrigation
system 10, is based around "ground-truthing" crop growth and
development within dynamic irrigation scheduling according to
either outputted scheduling recommendations or automation. Crop
growth and development plays a critical role in proper irrigation
scheduling, as crop modeling allows for predicting and determining
both observed and forecasted crop water usage, potential crop yield
loss due to water stress, and critical soil water depletion
levels.
[0055] By utilizing advanced aerial image processing to
"ground-truth" and derive key vegetative cover indexes and
indicators, such as Leaf Area Index (LAI), Enhanced Vegetative
Index (EVI), and/or fraction of green vegetation cover (fCover),
crop growth models can be precisely manipulated to improve the
accuracy of observed and forecasted crop water usage, potential
crop yield impact, and critical soil water depletion levels to
calibrate the dynamic irrigation scheduling output and adjust the
irrigation system recommendation and automation.
[0056] Adjusting crop growth and development based on advanced
image processing revolves around correlating the processed image
output (e.g., LAI, EVI, fCover) to derive a crop coefficient value
(e.g., Kc) for the particular crop in a field. This crop
coefficient value can then be used to back calculate and adjust the
crops growth stage, rooting depth, yield response, and critical
depletion factor based on the particular date the image was taken
and (optionally) a key crop growth indicator, such as accumulated
GDUs, growing days, and/or growth ratio (current growth divided by
total growth). See FIG. 4 for an example of correlation of fCover
to observed Kc for corn and soybeans. It will be understood that
these parameters, coefficients, and variables are examples only and
that other image processing tools, equations, and factors may be
used.
[0057] As mentioned earlier, the processed aerial image output
derived for a particular date when the image was taken can be
utilized to auto-correct the historical, current, and forecasted
growth stages, K.sub.c values, rooting depths, yield response, and
critical depletion factors for a particular crop. These corrected
values all play a major role in dynamic irrigation scheduling and
deriving proper irrigation recommendations and automation.
[0058] Growth stages assist in deriving the below irrigation
scheduling variables and forecasting crop growth to derive an
expected maturity date (the date the crop is fully mature and no
yield loss can occur) for a particular crop. K.sub.c determines
water usage of a particular crop, which is used to determine soil
water depletion in the soil water balance equation:
D.sub.i=D.sub.i-1+EP.sub.c,i-EP.sub.i-I.sub.i-CR.sub.i (1)
wherein D.sub.i-1 is soil water depletion for day i-1 (e.g.,
yesterday), ET.sub.c,i is crop evapotranspiration on day i (equal
to ET.sub.o,l times K.sub.c,l (no stress)), EP.sub.i is effective
precipitation on day i (equal to Actual Precipitation P minus
runoff from soil surface Q), I.sub.i is net irrigation depth
applied on day i (from real time, as applied irrigation data), and
CR.sub.i is equal to capillary rise from groundwater table on day
i=0 (for water table >1 meter below bottom of root zone). The
soil water depletion for day i-1 is determined as follows:
D i - 1 = { 0 , D i - 1 < 0 ( mm ) ( accounts for deep
percolation occuring when less than 0 ) D i - 1 , D i - 1 .gtoreq.
0 ( mm ) ( no deep percolation has occurred ) ( 2 )
##EQU00001##
Note that if ET.sub.c adj, i is less than ET.sub.c,i, then the crop
has entered stress on day i and will experience yield loss.
[0059] Rooting Depth determines the Total Available Water (TAW) and
Permanent Wilting Point (PWP) or depletion value at which the crop
essentially dies for the particular crop and date:
TAW.sub.i=AWHC-RD.sub.i (3)
wherein TAW is total available water on day i (in millimeters),
AWHC is total available water holding capacity of the soil (in
millimeters per meter), and RD.sub.i is the root depth of the crop
on day i (in meters).
[0060] Critical Depletion Factor determines the Readily Available
Water (depletion value at which the crop becomes stressed and yield
potential is impacted) for the particular crop and date:
RAW.sub.i=TAW.times.DF.sub.i (4)
wherein RAW.sub.i is readily available water on day i (in
millimeters), TAW.sub.i is total available water on day i (in
millimeters), and DF.sub.i is critical depletion factor of the crop
on day i.
[0061] Yield Response determines the crop's potential yield loss
due to water stress and utilizes all of the aforementioned
variables (K.sub.c, rooting depth, and critical depletion factor)
to derive the outputted potential yield loss value.
[0062] The aerial imagery outputs may also be used to determine a
significant crop event experienced by a particular crop. A
significant crop event occurs when substantial damage or other
inhibitors impact crop growth and performance more than typical
weather variations. A significant crop event may be a pest
infestation, a heat wave, a hail storm, a drought or dry spell,
and/or a flood or high water. These significant crop events can be
determined by the aerial imagery based on current and historic crop
growth data combined with a "significant" indicator, such as
percent reduction in vegetative index over a set time interval or a
percent reduction in adjusted K.sub.c versus calculated K.sub.c.
These may trigger a reset of the crop growth model for the image
date. This reset will then impact the forecasted dynamic irrigation
schedule, irrigation recommendations, and subsequent system
control/automation.
[0063] Depending on the resolution of the imagery, these outputs
can be derived across an entire agricultural field or area,
allowing significant crop events to be determined, corrections and
calibrations to be made to the crop growth models and irrigation
schedules, recommendations to be formulated, and system control to
be implemented for each individual area of the field or fields.
[0064] The following examples are illustrations of the detection of
significant crop events based on the processed image output for a
particular crop at a specific point in the field and corresponding
changes to an irrigation plan. It will be understood that the
following are examples only and that other image processing tools,
equations, and factors may be used.
Example 1--Correcting Irrigation Scheduling Variables
[0065] A corn crop was planted in a section of a field (GPS
coordinates 41.86220, -96.39132) on May 9, 2017 with a relative
maturity value of 112 days and a GDUs to maturity value of 2800. An
aerial image was taken on Jul. 1, 2017 for the location and
processed to derive an fCover value of 0.68 for the particular
point of the field the crop was located. FIGS. 6 and 7 show the
original (no adjustments) crop growth and soil water depletion data
for Jul. 1, 2017 derived by the dynamic irrigation scheduling and
crop growth model.
[0066] According to the equation defined in the "K.sub.c vs
fCover+Corn" chart detailed earlier, an fCover value of 0.68 for
corn corresponds to a K.sub.c value 0.6815. Based on this K.sub.c
value, the crop growth and irrigation schedule model can be
adjusted historically and currently to derive the following crop
growth and soil water depletion data for Jul. 1, 2017, as shown in
FIGS. 8 and 9.
[0067] After these corrections are made currently and historically,
the dynamic irrigation schedule and crop growth model can adjust
the forecasted values to reflect these corrections and provide more
accurate irrigation recommendations and/or system
control/automation. In this example, an irrigation schedule may be
changed to better reflect the crop's water usage, both to-date and
forecasted. The water usage by the crop, to-date, would be less
than originally estimated/measured since growth was slowed and, by
having a better understanding of the to-date water usage of the
crop, allows for more accurate forecasted water usage estimates,
resulting in a more precise, dynamic irrigation schedule.
Example 2--Determining Significant Event
[0068] Using the same crop data as Example 1, assume an fCover
value of 0.73 was captured on Jul. 18, 2017, which correlates to a
K.sub.c value of 0.82. FIGS. 10 and 11 show the original (no
adjustments) crop growth and soil water depletion data for Jul. 18,
2017 derived by the dynamic irrigation scheduling and crop growth
model.
[0069] The corrected K.sub.c value, derived from the fCover value
on Jul. 18, 2017, of 0.82 is a 32 percent reduction of the
original, calculated K.sub.c value (1.20). Now, assuming any
reduction greater than 32 percent (arbitrary number, not proven or
tested) constitutes a significant crop event, the dynamic crop
growth and irrigation schedule model can adjust the current and
forecasted values to reflect this extremity and derive the
following crop growth and soil water depletion data for Jul. 1,
2017, as shown in FIGS. 12 and 13.
[0070] In this particular example, a severe hail event occurred on
Jul. 18, 2017, causing the crop to lose 5-7 leaves, which resulted
in the lower fCover and K.sub.c value and adjusted the crop growth
stage from V18 (vegetative stage with 18 primary leaves) to V11
(vegetative stage with 11 primary leaves). In this example, an
irrigation schedule may be changed to better reflect the
catastrophic event that has occurred. The catastrophic event does
not impact the crop's water usage to-date, since the growth was not
slowed in the past, but, rather, the crop was damaged, which
impacts the water usage of the crop starting the day the
catastrophic even occurred and onward. This will result in a more
precise, dynamic irrigation schedule as a result of knowing that a
catastrophic event occurred and adjusting the estimated/measured
water usage of the crop accordingly.
[0071] The present invention also includes methods of controlling
irrigation systems with the above-described technologies. One
embodiment of the methods is shown in FIG. 14 and comprises
irrigating a crop with an irrigation system according to an
irrigation schedule (Step 100); receiving crop growth data from
sensors that sense growth and/or health characteristics of the crop
(Step 102); receiving aerial image data from an aerial image source
(Step 104); determining whether a significant crop event has
occurred based on the crop growth data and the aerial image data
(Step 106); and adjusting the irrigation schedule if a significant
crop event has occurred (Step 108). The computational aspects of
the method may be performed by the control system, the data server,
both, or another computing device in communication with the control
system and/or the data server.
ADDITIONAL CONSIDERATIONS
[0072] In this description, references to "one embodiment," "an
embodiment," or "embodiments" mean that the feature or features
being referred to are included in at least one embodiment of the
technology. Separate references to "one embodiment," "an
embodiment," or "embodiments" in this description do not
necessarily refer to the same embodiment and are also not mutually
exclusive unless so stated and/or except as will be readily
apparent to those skilled in the art from the description. For
example, a feature, structure, act, etc. described in one
embodiment may also be included in other embodiments but is not
necessarily included. Thus, the current technology can include a
variety of combinations and/or integrations of the embodiments
described herein.
[0073] Although the present application sets forth a detailed
description of numerous different embodiments, the legal scope of
the description is defined by the words of the claims set forth at
the end of this patent and equivalents. The detailed description is
to be construed as exemplary only and does not describe every
possible embodiment since describing every possible embodiment
would be impractical. Numerous alternative embodiments may be
implemented, using either current technology or technology
developed after the filing date of this patent, which would still
fall within the scope of the claims. For example, the principles of
the present invention are not limited to the illustrated center
pivot irrigation systems but may be implemented in any type of
irrigation system including linear move irrigation systems.
[0074] Throughout this specification, plural instances may
implement components, operations, or structures described as a
single instance. Although individual operations of one or more
methods are illustrated and described as separate operations, one
or more of the individual operations may be performed concurrently,
and nothing requires that the operations be performed in the order
illustrated. Structures and functionality presented as separate
components in example configurations may be implemented as a
combined structure or component. Similarly, structures and
functionality presented as a single component may be implemented as
separate components. These and other variations, modifications,
additions, and improvements fall within the scope of the subject
matter herein.
[0075] Some of the functions described herein may be implemented
with one or more computer programs executed by one of the
electronic devices described above. Each computer program comprises
an ordered listing of executable instructions for implementing
logical functions and can be embodied in any computer-readable
medium for use by or in connection with an instruction execution
system, apparatus, or device that can fetch the instructions and
execute the instructions. In the context of this application, a
"computer-readable medium" can be any means that can contain,
store, communicate, propagate or transport the program for use by
or in connection with the instruction execution system, apparatus,
or device including, but not limited to, the memory of the
electronic devices described above. The computer-readable medium
can be, for example, but not limited to, an electronic, magnetic,
optical, electro-magnetic, infrared, or semi-conductor system,
apparatus, device, or propagation medium. More specific, although
not inclusive, examples of the computer-readable medium would
include the following: an electrical connection having one or more
wires, a random access memory (RAM), a read-only memory (ROM), an
erasable, programmable, read-only memory (EPROM or Flash memory),
an optical fiber, and a portable compact disk read-only memory
(CDROM).
[0076] Certain embodiments are described herein as including logic
or a number of routines, subroutines, applications, or
instructions. These may constitute either software (e.g., code
embodied on a machine-readable medium or in a transmission signal)
or hardware. In hardware, the routines, etc., are tangible units
capable of performing certain operations and may be configured or
arranged in a certain manner. In example embodiments, one or more
computer systems (e.g., a standalone, client or server computer
system) or one or more hardware modules of a computer system (e.g.,
a processor or a group of processors) may be configured by software
(e.g., an application or application portion) as computer hardware
that operates to perform certain operations as described
herein.
[0077] In various embodiments, processing elements may be
implemented as special purpose computers or as general purpose
computers. For example, the electronic devices described above may
comprise dedicated circuitry or logic that is permanently
configured, such as an application-specific integrated circuit
(ASIC), or indefinitely configured, such as an FPGA, to perform
certain operations. The electronic devices may also comprise
programmable logic or circuitry (e.g., as encompassed within a
general-purpose processor or other programmable processor) that is
temporarily configured by software to perform certain operations.
It will be appreciated that the decision to implement the
electronic devices as special purpose, in dedicated and permanently
configured circuitry, or as general purpose (e.g., configured by
software) may be driven by cost and time considerations.
[0078] Accordingly, the terms "electronic devices", "electronic
circuits," "processing element" or equivalents should be understood
to encompass a tangible entity, be that an entity that is
physically constructed, permanently configured (e.g., hardwired),
or temporarily configured (e.g., programmed) to operate in a
certain manner or to perform certain operations described herein.
Considering embodiments in which the electronic circuits are
temporarily configured (e.g., programmed), each of the processing
elements need not be configured or instantiated at any one instance
in time. For example, where the electronic circuits comprise a
general-purpose processor configured using software, the
general-purpose processor may be configured as respective different
processing elements at different times. Software may accordingly
configure the electronic circuits to constitute a hardware
configuration at one instance of time and to constitute a different
hardware configuration at a different instance of time.
[0079] Computer hardware components, such as communication
elements, memory elements, processing elements, and the like, may
provide information to, and receive information from, other
computer hardware components. Accordingly, the described computer
hardware components may be regarded as being communicatively
coupled. Where multiple of such computer hardware components exist
contemporaneously, communications may be achieved through signal
transmission (e.g., over appropriate circuits and buses) that
connect the computer hardware components. In embodiments in which
multiple computer hardware components are configured or
instantiated at different times, communications between such
computer hardware components may be achieved, for example, through
the storage and retrieval of information in memory structures to
which the multiple computer hardware components have access. For
example, one computer hardware component may perform an operation
and store the output of that operation in a memory device to which
it is communicatively coupled. A further computer hardware
component may then, later, access the memory device to retrieve and
process the stored output. Computer hardware components may also
initiate communications with input or output devices, and may
operate on a resource (e.g., a collection of information).
[0080] The various operations of example methods described and
claimed herein may be performed, at least partially, by one or more
processing elements that are temporarily configured (e.g., by
software) or permanently configured to perform the relevant
operations. Whether temporarily or permanently configured, such
processing elements may constitute processing element-implemented
modules that operate to perform one or more operations or
functions. The modules referred to herein may, in some example
embodiments, comprise processing element-implemented modules.
[0081] Similarly, the methods or routines described herein may be
at least partially processing element-implemented. For example, at
least some of the operations of the methods may be performed by one
or more processing elements or processing element-implemented
hardware modules. The performance of certain of the operations may
be distributed among the one or more processing elements, not only
residing within a single machine, but deployed across a number of
machines. In some example embodiments, the processing elements may
be located in a single location (e.g., within a home environment,
an office environment or as a server farm), while in other
embodiments the processing elements may be distributed across a
number of locations.
[0082] Unless specifically stated otherwise, discussions herein
using words such as "processing," "computing," "calculating,"
"determining," "presenting," "displaying," or the like may refer to
actions or processes of a machine (e.g., a computer with a
processing element and other computer hardware components) that
manipulates or transforms data represented as physical (e.g.,
electronic, magnetic, or optical) quantities within one or more
memories (e.g., volatile memory, non-volatile memory, or a
combination thereof), registers, or other machine components that
receive, store, transmit, or display information.
[0083] As used herein, the terms "comprises," "comprising,"
"includes," "including," "has," "having" or any other variation
thereof, are intended to cover a non-exclusive inclusion. For
example, a process, method, article, or apparatus that comprises a
list of elements is not necessarily limited to only those elements
but may include other elements not expressly listed or inherent to
such process, method, article, or apparatus.
[0084] The patent claims at the end of this patent application are
not intended to be construed under 35 U.S.C. .sctn. 112(f) unless
traditional means-plus-function language is expressly recited, such
as "means for" or "step for" language being explicitly recited in
the claim(s).
* * * * *